Apollo pushed to his feet and pointed toward the door.
"We need to get to the hospital. They're going to want family present."
I guided Vinny outside. One of the paramedics glanced back at us as they loaded her in.
"You family?"
I didn't hesitate.
"He's with me."
There was a brief pause, just long enough to assess, then a nod.
"Stay close. Follow us."
I looked back toward Solana, Juelz, Aubree, and Jessa.
"Jessa, you drive here?" I asked.
Vinny's fist tightened in the back of my shirt. Jessa was already pulling her keys from her pocket.
"I'll drive y'all to the hospital," she said.
I looked at Juelz and tossed him my bike keys, nodding toward the direction of the shop. He caught them and headed off without a word. Jessa led us to her car and we made our way to Haven Crest Medical Center.
She dropped us at the emergency room entrance and went to park. Everyone moved inside except Vinny, whose feet stopped at the edge of the doors like something had locked inside of him.
Solana noticed we weren't behind her and turned back. I gave her a look and she read it immediately, giving Vinny a quiet smile before she followed Aubree in.
I turned to give him my full attention. He was staring up at the emergency sign above the automatic doors like he couldn't make himself look away from it.
"I can't go in there, Duke," he said finally.
"Why not?"
Vinny turned from the entrance and walked over to the bench along the side of the building. He sat down heavily. I let out a slow breath and took the seat beside him.
He clasped and unclasped his hands over and over.
"If I go in there and they tell me she's gone, I got nobody. No place to go. She can't leave me yet, man."
I sat with that for a moment and didn't rush past it. I didn't know what state his mother was in and I wasn't going to lie to him just to get him through the door.
I leaned back into the bench and widened my legs, hands clasped in front of me.
"I hear you. And I hate that this is something you're going through. I can't tell you everything is going to go the way you want it to when we walk in there. But what I can tell you with everything in me is that you're not going through it alone. I got you. Whatever happens, you have me."
Vinny looked up from his sneakers. His eyes were red and wet and wide, like he wasn't sure he had heard me right. He reached up and wiped his face with the back of his hand, then straightened his shirt like he was trying to pull himself together.
"You ready to go in and handle whatever is on the other side of those doors?" I asked.
He nodded and stood. I stood with him and led him inside.
Solana and Aubree were at the reception desk trying to get whatever information they could, but there wasn't much to give them yet. She had just come in. We walked over and Vinny stepped up and gave his mother's full name along with their address and her date of birth without being asked. He had all of it memorized. That told me everything. This wasn't the first time he had stood at a desk like this one.
The receptionist told us someone would come out when there was something to share. We found seats in the waiting room and settled in.
About thirty minutes later, Juelz came through the entrance doors moving fast and slightly out of breath. He scanned the room until he found us, then made his way over. His eyes went straight to Aubree the moment he reached us. She didn't look up.